Books I’m Reading That Inspire Me

on November 9, 2011

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Since getting my Kindle last Christmas, I’ve been getting a lot more reading done. There’s a lot to be said for large fonts and not having to turn pages. The only thing it needs is a back light. I can’t read it in the dark

Anyway here are a few of the books I’m reading that have inspired me but I think they’ll inspire you as well.

Crush It! By Gary Vaynerchuk

If you like down to earth, tell it like it is, no-nonsense individuals, you’ll love Gary Vaynerchuk, I did.Gary is an entrepreneur who has built online success with a daily video show on wine.

As soon as you read the first few chapters of Crush It! you’ll know why he’s as successful as he is. He just oozes character and personality, but he’s amusing and easy to follow as well.

While most of us might not be as wildly ambitious or as willing to tirelessly put ourselves out there as Gary has , there’s a lot we can learn from his successes and about how to find passion, how to work hard and just be who you are.

The book struck a chord with me. There are a few bitter pills to swallow but they’re necessary if you want to find success in any business. If you have fears and uncertainties, he encourages you to look past the things you’re fearful of and inspires you to believe in yourself that you can be successful.

Very powerful and inspiring book, I highly recommend it.

Unmarketing by Scott Stratten

I’m not a marketer at heart, but I don’t really think most people are. It’s something we learn and have to work at. But the beauty of “Unmarketing” is that Scott shows us through his personal experience that you can build a successful business, build up a following of customers and do it all without being a natural born salesman.

Scott’s also a big fan of social media, so if you can’t quite get your arms around the whole tweeting and Facebook thing there’s some really useful advice on how to maximize these social marketing tools naturally and comfortably.

Tribes by Seth Godin

Seth Godin is a phenomenal speaker on marketing and social marketing and through his book “Tribes”, he demonstrates that with the reach of the internet, the lack of barriers we have within the online business industry and the abundance of free and low-cost tools of the internet, you don’t need millions of people to create a successful online business. All it really take is a loyal “Tribe”. But first you have to find them and then inspire them.

Seth has lots of ideas for finding and leading a tribe, from being an example, sharing stories, creating a common goal, and so much more.

If you’re especially motivated to stand out in the crowd, become an inspiring leader with passion and vision and truly want to make a difference with your products and marketing, I think you’ll find “Tribes” a great read. I did.

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

I love Zappos for two reasons, I’ve been a Zappos affiliate for years but I’ve also been a loyal customer for years as well, so the book was a little personal for me.

What’s inspiring about Zappos is that the company has built the majoring of their successes from achieving 75% repeat business. That’s key if you understand that it’s a lot harder to get a new customer than it is to sell to a repeat customer. That kind of success can only come from awesome customer service and if you’ve ever shopped at Zappos, no doubt you’ve has a great customer experience.

But in Tony’s mind, successful business is not just about keeping customers happy, it’s also about keeping good employees happy too. He’s made it his mission to make his employees feel committed and attached to Zappos. If you have employees yourself you’ll glean some useful ideas from Tony’s somewhat radical, but interesting, ways of doing things.

Comments

Very nice list of great books I love “Tribe” by Seth Godin. I love Squidoo (one of his amazing works) and I’ve heard about the book quite some time now. I think I’ll give it a try soon. Thanks for sharing your list, I appreciate that!